Consumers stepped up gift giving during the first seven weeks of the holiday shopping season, yet uncertainty about the economy is making them more targeted in their buying.

Giraffes are now classified into four distinct species in Africa.

A prominent Georgia Republican accused of running a $140 million Ponzi scheme has publicly apologized.

The family of a U.S. airman who was killed by a Florida sheriff’s deputy inside his own home in 2024 has sued the deputy, the sheriff and the owner of the airman's apartment complex.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump has filed a federal lawsuit against a former Florida sheriff’s deputy and others in the May 2024 shooting death of 23-year-old U.S. Senior Airman Roger Fortson.

Give Beyoncé a record and she’ll break it.

Michael Brown’s fatal shooting by police a decade ago set off more than a week of protests by thousands of people in Ferguson, Missouri.

After Michael Brown Jr. was killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, several nationally prominent Black religious leaders arrived, thinking they could help lead the protest movement that had surfaced.

The man accused in an assault that left a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer fighting for his life is facing several additional charges after a grand jury indictment.

The National Basketball Association formalized its giving over the past four years through a new $300 million grantmaking arm.

For some Christian progressives, the lack of acknowledgement by their churches or ministries of the racial reckoning in 2020 was the final push to go elsewhere.

This month marks 10 years since the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

A Missouri nonprofit founded in 2015 to help address the issues that contributed to the police shooting death of Michael Brown Jr. and the riots that followed has faced the same lament many philanthropies face.

Michael Brown has been dead for a decade.

A Ferguson, Missouri, police officer who was critically injured during a protest on the 10th anniversary of Michael Brown’s death is showing “small but significant signs of progress” from a severe brain injury.

Police in Ferguson, Missouri, say an officer was critically injured outside the city's police station during protests on the 10th anniversary of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, a pivotal moment in the national Black Lives Matter movement.

On Aug. 9, 2014, Michael Brown and a friend were walking in the middle of Canfield Drive, a two-lane street in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri, when a police officer drove by and told them to use the sidewalk.

Michael Brown’s death was the catalyst for massive change starting in Ferguson, Missouri.

A new poll finds that only about 1 in 10 U.S. adults give high ratings to the way democracy is working in the United States or how well it represents the interests of most Americans.

The Democratic San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to allow police to use potentially lethal, remote-controlled robots in emergency situations.

As the first-ever feature-length retelling of the lynching of Emmett Till goes into wide release, so does an art campaign meant to honor the power of images like those of his open casket that were printed by the Black press.

A trial that started Monday in Washington, D.

Oath Keepers militia group founder Stewart Rhodes was once a promising Yale Law School graduate.

House Democrats have pushed through a long-sought policing and public safety package after overcoming internal differences on legislation they plan to make central to their election-year pitch.

Eight years after Michael Brown’s death pushed the St. Louis region front and center into the national debate over police accountability, the city’s elected officials and its police associations are at odds over a new oversight plan.

The Texas Department of Public Safety has launched an internal review over the slow response to the Uvalde school massacre.

A Michigan police officer has been charged with second-degree murder for fatally shooting Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head as the Black man was on the ground.

Wednesday marks the second anniversary of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which sparked a global protest movement and calls for a racial reckoning to address structural racism that has created long-standing inequities impacting generations of Black Americans.

The Minneapolis Police Department will face the scrutiny of a federal program after a state investigation concluded that its officers stop and arrest Black people more than white people, use force more often on people of color and maintain a culture in which racism is tolerated.

A new, 63-page IRS tax filing shared exclusively with The Associated Press shows the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation Inc. ended its last fiscal year with nearly $42 million in net assets.

In an exclusive interview, Patrisse Cullors, the former leader of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, tells The Associated Press that neither she nor anyone else in leadership has misused millions of dollars in donations.

Some researchers believe by controlling the good bacteria in your gut, you can stave off cognitive decline.

Video shows Patrick Lyoya disobeyed an officer during an April 4 traffic stop, tried to run, then wrestled with the officer over his Taser before the officer fatally shot him in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri has a memoir coming out this fall.

Southern Baptist Convention President Ed Litton says he won't seek a second term in the top convention role.

Before Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Michael Brown, Breonna Taylor and other Black people died at the hands of white police officers or self-appointed vigilantes, there was Martin Lee Anderson.

Trayvon Martin was visiting his father in Sanford, Florida, when the 17-year-old Black teen was fatally shot Feb. 26, 2012, during a confrontation with George Zimmerman.

The killing of Trayvon Martin at the hands of a stranger still reverberates 10 years later -- in protest, in partisanship, in racial reckoning and reactionary response, in social justice and social media.

The killing of a Black man by Minneapolis police left his family and activists angry and questioning the credibility of a department widely criticized for its initial portrayal of George Floyd’s death.

The Justice Department says it will not reopen the federal investigation into the 2014 death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was shot to death by Cleveland police.

Data show it's rare for police officers to be convicted of on-duty killings.

A suburban Minneapolis police officer who said she confused her handgun for a Taser was led away in handcuffs Thursday after a jury found her guilty of manslaughter in the death of Black motorist Daunte Wright.

A South Florida law school says it is creating a social justice center named after Ben Crump, the Black civil rights attorney who has gained national prominence representing victims of police brutality and vigilante violence.

Minneapolis activists are collecting accounts of police misconduct from community members for a federal civil rights investigation into the Minneapolis police to ensure they have a say in any potential changes.

The FBI surveillance plane that captured footage of the night Kyle Rittenhouse shot three people during a protest against police brutality in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year was part of a wider government strategy to keep tabs on demonstrations against racial injustice.

The estate of Henrietta Lacks sued a biotechnology company on Monday, saying it's been selling her cervical cells without her knowledge or consent.

Since the death of George Floyd and the protests that followed, police departments around the country are increasingly pushing for de-escalation training.

The debate over whether to revive the moratorium on evictions during the pandemic was deeply personal for Missouri congresswoman Cori Bush.

The Justice Department is sending a strong signal about its priorities these days.

Lawmakers in more than 20 states have considered bills this year to make the disciplinary records of police officers public.

Calls have grown for federal investigations into police killings across the nation since President Joe Biden took office and said he believes racial disparities in policing must change.

The family of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was fatally shot by Cleveland police in 2014, is asking the Justice Department to reopen the case into his death after it was closed near the end of the Trump administration.

Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division nominee Kristen Clarke speaks during an event with President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)WASHINGTON – Some of the largest law enforcement groups in the U.S. are throwing their support behind President Joe Biden’s nominee to run the Justice Department’s civil rights division. Other supporters also include the National Association of Police Organizations, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, the Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association, the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives and dozens of crime victims. As attorney general in the Obama administration, Eric Holder frequently criticized violent police confrontations and opened a series of civil rights investigations into local law enforcement practices. The civil rights investigations often ended with court-approved consent decrees that mandated reforms.

(AP Photos)NEW YORK – Black Lives Matter protests, 2020: Overwhelming force from law enforcement in dozens of cities. “Confederate flags, ‘don’t tread on me,’ ‘blue lives matter’ flags, the Trump flags — all of it symbolizes the same thing. On Wednesday, images emerged showing custodial staffers of color in the Capitol sweeping up the shards of glass and trash left behind by the rioters. NAACP President Derrick Johnson said the people who violated the Capitol on Wednesday should not be seen as patriotic. “This is not protesting or activism; this is an insurrection, an assault on our democracy, and a coup incited by President Trump,” Johnson said.

To bring federal civil rights charges in cases like these, the Justice Department must prove that an officer’s actions willfully broke the law and are not simply the result of a mistake, negligence or bad judgment. But the video reviewed by federal prosecutors makes the sequence of events less clear. Neither of two witnesses who either saw part of the encounter or reported hearing gunshots said they saw exactly what Rice was doing just before the shooting, according to the Justice Department. In a statement at the scene to three other law enforcement officers, Loehmann “repeatedly and consistently stated” that Tamir was reaching for a gun before he shot him, prosecutors said. Both Loehmann and Garmback also said in statements after the shooting that Loehmann had given Tamir “multiple commands to show his hands before shooting” and both officers saw him reaching for the weapon.

To bring federal civil rights charges in cases like these, the Justice Department must prove that an officer’s actions willfully broke the law and are not simply the result of a mistake, negligence or bad judgment. But the video reviewed by federal prosecutors makes the sequence of events less clear. Neither of two witnesses who either saw part of the encounter or reported hearing gunshots said they saw exactly what Rice was doing just before the shooting, according to the Justice Department. In a statement at the scene to three other law enforcement officers, Loehmann “repeatedly and consistently stated” that Tamir was reaching for a gun before he shot him, prosecutors said. Both Loehmann and Garmback also said in statements after the shooting that Loehmann had given Tamir “multiple commands to show his hands before shooting” and both officers saw him reaching for the weapon.

Campbell, in his fifth season at Iowa State, got all 20 votes as coach of the year. Iowa State had four first-team selections for the AP All-Big 12 team, matching Oklahoma and Texas Tech for the most in league. RB — u-Breece Hall, Iowa State, 6-1, 215, So., Wichita, Kansas. G — Derek Schweiger, Iowa State, 6-3, 311, Jr., Plymouth, Wisconsin. WR — Xavier Hutchinson, Iowa State, 6-3, 207, Jr., Jacksonville, Florida.

Now Warnock is the politician running for office and the one under attack for his sometimes impassioned words from the pulpit. His opponent, Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler, has blasted his rhetoric and proposals as “radical,” socialist and out of step with Georgia residents. At the Georgia Capitol in 2014, he was arrested while protesting the refusal of state Republicans to expand Medicaid. Warnock said he was trying to make sure young people had lawyers or family present when questioned by authorities. Warnock is right to keep focusing on his platform of a living wage, expanded health care options and voting rights, said the Rev.

But with no-knock warrants, officers don't have to say anything and don't have to wait. “There has been an historic issuance of no-knock warrants for inappropriate purposes, basically for fishing expeditions for drug evidence,” said Kraska, who helped Campaign Zero write its recommendations. The group is now working with 37 cities and states to introduce legislation on no-knock warrants. In Charlotte, North Carolina, when police Chief Johnny Jennings took over his post in July he dug into the issue of no-knock warrants and ended their use for the department's 1,800 officers. “We found that if there is something that is so dangerous that it requires a no-knock search warrant, that we did not need to take that risk.

“Black Lives Matter saved us, because we had nobody,” said Jones. Now, BLM’s influence faces a test, as voters in Tuesday’s election consider candidates who endorsed or denounced the BLM movement amid a national reckoning on race. Enter Black Lives Matter. Across social media platforms, the Black Lives Matter movement boasts a following of millions. “Black Lives Matter,” as a slogan, elicited “All Lives Matter” and “Blue Lives Matter” responses from foes.

If you need help with the Public File, call 210-351-1241. Copyright © 2020 KSAT.com is managed by Graham Digital and pubished by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings.

The dispute over grand jury secrecy arose Wednesday, the same day police files were released showing contacts between Taylor and a man she dated previously who was suspected of drug dealing. None of the white officers was directly charged with Taylor's death by the grand jury last month, triggering renewed street protests. He said in a statement that grand jury proceedings are kept confidential by legal precedent to protect the safety and anonymity of all involved — grand jurors, witnesses and others. Cameron determined before the grand jury proceedings that the officers had acted in self-defense. He has acknowledged that he did not recommend murder charges to the grand jury.

The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 44% of Americans disapprove of protests in response to police violence against Black Americans, while 39% approve. Just 35% of white Americans approve of the protests now, while 50% disapprove. Among Latinos, 31% approve, compared with 44% in June; 63% of Black Americans support the protests, down from 81%, with more now saying they neither approve nor disapprove. While 74% of Black Americans say the criminal justice system is too lenient when officers cause injury or death, 47% of white Americans and 50% of Latinos say the same. Among Republicans, 75% say they disapprove of the protests, up from 56% in June.

Webb spent more than three decades in law enforcement before she and co-founder, Randy Friedman, founded RITE Academy in 2015. Webb says emotional intelligence training is not just for athletes, it works for law enforcement officers, too. Jones says his encounter along with being in law enforcement allows him to see both sides of what happened between Ometu and SAPD officers. Law enforcement officers are also taught how to identify block-out syndrome. Webb says their training program is different than diversity cultural classes law enforcement officers take.

Authorities have been reluctant to release even the most basic information about the incident or details about the white officer who shot Blake seven times in the back. They shot my son seven times seven times, like he didnt matter, Blakes father, Jacob Blake Sr., said. In 2014, for example, a union spokesman rushed to the scene where a white Chicago officer fatally shot 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. As for the shooting itself, authorities, citing the need to protect the integrity of the investigation, have raised far more questions than they've answered. Instead, he said a knife was found after the shooting on the drivers side floorboard of the SUV.

Police in riot gear stand outside the Kenosha County Court House Monday, Aug. 24, 2020, in Kenosha, Wis. Protests broke out late Sunday night after a police shooting. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

It doesnt show what happened before or after the shooting like body camera footage would. Kenosha officers do have cameras in their squad cars, but it's unclear whether any captured the shooting. By then, Kenosha had already fallen behind most other midsized police departments nationwide that were moving forward with body camera programs. Body cameras are a necessity. Yet the flip side is that people are demanding body cameras," he said.

She faced questions familiar to women in politics, particularly women of color, about her ambition. Harris faced both the scrutiny of her personal life and the resistance to her rise as she raced past rivals from more well-connected families. Years later, when she ran for California attorney general and needed support beyond her liberal home base, Harris tempered her stance on capital punishment. She knew that her adopted homeland would see Maya and me as Black girls, and she was determined to make sure we would grow into confident, proud Black women," Harris wrote of her mother. At Howard, Harris joined Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nations oldest sorority for Black women.

She faced questions familiar to women in politics, particularly women of color, about her ambition. Harris faced both the scrutiny of her personal life and the resistance to her rise as she raced past rivals from more well-connected families. Years later, when she ran for California attorney general and needed support beyond her liberal home base, Harris tempered her stance on capital punishment. She knew that her adopted homeland would see Maya and me as Black girls, and she was determined to make sure we would grow into confident, proud Black women," Harris wrote of her mother. At Howard, Harris joined Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nations oldest sorority for Black women.

Our entire economy is at stake, Clyburn told The Associated Press in a Newsmakers interview. The third-ranking House Democrat said he's hopeful that negotiators on Capitol Hill can reach an agreement soon on a new virus aid package. Weve got a health care crisis wrapped into an economic crisis, and they are so interwoven, Clyburn said. And so that we can have a fair, unfettered election, said Clyburn, who is the House Democratic whip. You know, when I was a child, I spoke as a child and understood as a child.

FILE - In this March 6, 2020 file photo, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., speaks at a campaign rally in Detroit. Her opponent in the primary was Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones. Y'all, we about to change the world.Beyond signaling momentum, the victories are giving progressives confidence about two upcoming tests. Next week, squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota will face a challenge from a well-funded opponent, Antone Melton-Meaux. In March, Marie Newman knocked off Illinois Rep. Dan Lipinski, an abortion opponent who compared progressive Democrats to a tea party of the left."

2019, file photo, Rep. William Lacy Clay, right, D-Mo., speaks with St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson after a news conference in St. Louis. Come January, shell almost certainly be representing the St. Louis suburb in Congress, making her the most prominent of many Ferguson protesters who have turned to politics. The district that covers St. Louis and north St. Louis County is overwhelmingly Democratic, and Bush is heavily favored in November against her little-known Republican challenger, Anthony Rogers. He was replaced by another Ferguson activist, Rasheen Aldridge, who is just 26. Zaki Baruti, another leading Ferguson activist, said he recognized Bush's potential during the protests and helped convince her to run for U.S. Senate in 2016.

This photo shows a general view of the scene of an explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. A massive explosion rocked Beirut on Tuesday, flattening much of the city's port, damaging buildings across the capital and sending a giant mushroom cloud into the sky. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:1. LEBANESE CONFRONT DEVASTATION Beiruts streets were littered with debris and damaged vehicles, building facades blown out and scores missing as the death toll from a massive explosion at the port rises to at least 100. ONETIME HOMELESS WOMAN WINS IN MISSOURI Cori Bush, who led protests after the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson in 2014, ousted longtime Rep. William Lacy Clay in the states Democratic primary.

After a third review failed to uncover enough evidence to charge the officer who fatally shot Black 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, some prosecutors and civil rights leaders agree its time to focus on changing the laws that shield police. Wilson and Brown became involved in a heated confrontation on Aug. 9, 2014. Wilson said that Brown came at him menacingly and that he killed him in self-defense. In Missouri, no new laws are on the horizon. His predecessor typically didn't record those sessions but made an exception in the investigation of Brown's death, Bell said.

Jonathan Smith, the executive director of the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, will lead the three-person panel reviewing policing policies at issue in the death of Elijah McClain, Sentinel Colorado reported Tuesday. Three officers stopped McClain as he walked down an Aurora street on Aug, 23, 2019 after a 911 caller reported him as suspicious. The Justice Department division is responsible for investigations of civil rights violations by law enforcement, juvenile justice and mental health and disability agencies. Last year, the local district attorney said he could not file charges against the officers because a pathologist could not determine whether the officers' actions caused McClain's death. Federal authorities recently revealed they have been researching since last year into whether they should launch a civil rights investigation into McClains death.

Church parishioners sit apart at a prayer vigil for racial justice at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church Sunday, July 19, 2020, in Seattle. The vigil follows ongoing protests over the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)NEW YORK Organizers of a national workers strike say tens of thousands are set to walk off the job Monday in more than two dozen U.S. cities to protest systemic racism and economic inequality that has only worsened during the coronavirus pandemic. Dubbed the Strike for Black Lives, labor unions, along with social and racial justice organizations from New York City to Los Angeles, will participate in a range of planned actions. We are ... building a country where Black lives matter in every aspect of society including in the workplace, said Ash-Lee Henderson, an organizer with the Movement for Black Lives, a coalition of over 150 organizations that make up the Black Lives Matter movement.

The national strike will also include a handful of worker-led marches through participating cities, organizers said Wednesday. Our members have been on a journey to understanding why we cannot win economic justice without racial justice. This strike for Black lives is a way to take our members understanding about that into the streets, Henry told the AP. Strike for Black Lives" organizers say they want to disrupt a multi-generational cycle of poverty perpetuated by anti-union and other policies that make it difficult to bargain collectively for better wages and working conditions. An estimated 54% of Black workers and 63% of Hispanic workers fall into that category, compared to 37% of white workers and 40% of Asian American workers, the group said.

FILE - In this Nov. 17, 2019, file photo, St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson sits during an NCAA college basketball game between Saint Louis and Seton Hall in St. Louis. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson knows the trauma of violence she and her children were present when her first husband was shot to death 25 ago during an attempted carjacking. St. Louis was violent then, as it is now. Floyds death reignited tensions in St. Louis. Just as in St. Louis, demonstrators and some City Council members have sought a drastic reduction in the law enforcement budget.

Black Lives Matter leader states, If U.S. doesnt give us what we want, then we will burn down this system and replace it. Hawk Newsome has no relation to the Black Lives Matter Global Network, Scales said. Reached by phone Thursday night, Newsome said Black Lives Matter Greater New York is now under the leadership of Black women. He also said Black Lives Matter is not a movement over which anyone can claim ownership. In Washington, D.C., the mayor ordered the words Black Lives Matter painted across a street near the White House, which also has been renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza.

Initially reluctant to speak on race, Scott is now among the Republican Partys most prominent voices teaching his colleagues what its like to be a Black man in America. Even after he became a U.S. senator, the Capitol quickly became just another place where he would be stopped by the police. Initially reluctant to focus on race, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina is now a leading Republican voice, teaching his party what its like to be a Black man in America when the police lights are flashing in the rearview mirror. He found his political legs and political wings at a unique time in this country, said Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist in South Carolina. I think its a blessing from God._____Associated Press writer Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.

A suburban St. Louis police detective has been suspended after a video appears to show him hitting a man with a police SUV and then hitting the suspect at least twice while arresting him. The new video, which was provided by attorneys for the man who was struck, offers a closer view and a different angle that shows the moment of impact. It also includes audio of the man screaming in pain after the SUV appears to drive across a front lawn and strike him. A day earlier, four St. Louis police officers were shot and a retired St. Louis police captain was fatally shot during a violent night in the city. An officer gets out of the SUV and appears to kick and hit the man on the ground as the man yells out, OK!

Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, the group behind the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement, has established a more than $12 million fund to aid organizations fighting institutional racism in the wake of the George Floyd protests. On Wednesday, the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation said it was setting aside $6 million from money it received in donations to support black-led grassroots organizing groups. Although there are many groups that use Black Lives Matter or BLM in their names, only 16 are considered affiliates of the global network. The Black Lives Matter movement emerged in 2013 amid anger over the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the Florida man who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012. Im really proud of the work weve been able to do in the last seven years, Patrisse Cullors, co-founder and chairwoman of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, said in a statement.

Law enforcement officials applaud after President Donald Trump signed an executive order on police reform, in the Rose Garden of the White House, Tuesday, June 16, 2020, in Washington. But he made no mention of the roiling national debate over racism spawned by police killings of black men and women. Reducing crime and raising standards are not opposite goals," he said before signing the order Tuesday, flanked by police officials. Trumps executive order would establish a database that tracks police officers with excessive use-of-force complaints in their records. The White House has said that is a step too far.

Workers prepare to remove the Jefferson Davis statue from the Kentucky state Capitol in Frankfort, Ky., on Saturday, June 13, 2020. A Kentucky commission voted to take down a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis from the state Capitol. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP)FRANKFORT, Ky. Having led the push to take down a statue of Jefferson Davis from the Kentucky Capitol, the state's governor had a ceremonial role Saturday in its removal from the place it stood for decades. The panels vote came two days after another Davis statue was toppled by protesters in Virginia. The commission called for the statue to be moved to the Jefferson Davis Historic Site, where Davis was born.

NEW YORK – An angry and emotional Dave Chappelle spoke on the killing of George Floyd in a surprise Netflix special, saying America was being punished for its mistreatment of black men. The special was released Thursday and is streaming free on Netflix’s comedy YouTube channel. It was taken from a show at an outdoor pavilion in Yellow Springs, Ohio, with about 100 attendees on June 6. Chappelle called his special “8:46” in part after the length of time the officer was on top of the handcuffed Floyd. “When I watched that tape, I understood this man knew he was going to die,” said the comedian.

(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)BURIEN, Wash. Seattle officers hold down a protester, and one repeatedly punches him in the face. Better training cant fix all the issues facing the nations police departments, but experts believe it would have a big impact. A recent Associated Press investigation found that a lack of firearms training has resulted in unintentional shootings by law enforcement. Police officers across the country are woefully undertrained, said Sean Hendrickson, an instructor at Washington states police academy in suburban Seattle. In Washington state, cadets must complete 720 hours of training, but those skills start to degrade immediately, Hendrickson said.

Black Lives Matter has gone mainstream and black activists are carefully assessing how they should respond. Its very name enraged its foes, who countered with the slogans Blue Lives Matter and All Lives Matter." Black Lives Matter has gone mainstream and black activists are carefully assessing how they should respond. When we started Black Lives Matter, it was really to have a larger conversation around this country about its relationship to black people, said Patrisse Cullors, one of three black women who founded the Black Lives Matter Global Network, with chapters throughout the U.S. and in Britain and Canada. Last week, longtime Sacramento Kings TV broadcaster Grant Napear resigned after tweeting ALL LIVES MATTER when asked his opinion on the Black Lives Matter movement.

The law would allow an officer to be charged for acting with reckless disregard for someones life, causing that person's death. The bill would amend federal misconduct statutes to make it easier for courts to find officers personally liable for the violation of civil rights. The proposal would give specific subpoena power to federal civil rights prosecutors to conduct those investigations and would aid state attorneys general with conducting similar investigations. As attorney general in the Obama administration, Eric Holder frequently criticized violent police confrontations and opened a series of civil rights investigations into local law enforcement practices. The civil rights investigations often ended with court-approved consent decrees that mandated reforms.

Mourners pass by the casket of George Floyd during a public visitation for Floyd at the Fountain of Praise church Monday, June 8, 2020, in Houston. George Floyd, who was 46 when he was killed, will be laid to rest next to his mother. Floyd's death sparked international protests and drew new attention to the treatment of African Americans in the U.S. by police and the criminal justice system. Four Minneapolis officers were charged in connection with Floyd's death, which was captured on video by bystanders, who begged police to stop hurting him. A Minnesota judge on Monday kept bail at $1.25 million for Derek Chauvin, the police officer charged with second-degree murder in Floyds death.

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)Calls for deep police reforms gained momentum as leaders in the city where George Floyd died at the hands of an officer pushed to dismantle the entire department. Cities imposed curfews as several protests last week were marred by spasms of arson, assaults and smash-and-grab raids on businesses. More than 10,000 people have been arrested around the country since protests began, according to reports tracked by The Associated Press. But U.S. protests in recent days have been overwhelmingly peaceful and over the weekend, several police departments appeared to retreat from aggressive tactics. Things werent as peaceful in Seattle, where the mayor and police chief had said they were trying to deescalate tensions.

A spokesman for the Human Rights Council in Geneva confirmed that it had received a letter Monday from the groups outlining their call, as Black Lives Matter protests continue to gain traction well beyond the United States notably in Europe. I want to appeal to the United Nations to help him. Help black men and women in America, he added. Its time the United States face the same scrutiny and judgment it is quick to pass on to other countries, said Jamil Dakwar, who heads the ACLUs human rights program. The Trump administration pulled the United States out of the council two years ago amid accusations that it was biased against Israel and counted some repressive or autocratic regimes that abuse human rights as members.

(Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via AP, File)MINNEAPOLIS A majority of the members of the Minneapolis City Council said Sunday they support disbanding the city's police department, an aggressive stance that comes just as the state has launched a civil rights investigation after George Floyd's death. Council member Jeremiah Ellison promised that the council would dismantle the department. It is clear that our system of policing is not keeping our communities safe, Lisa Bender, the council president, said. Community activists have criticized the Minneapolis department for years for what they say is a racist and brutal culture that resists change. The move to defund or abolish the Minneapolis department is far from assured, with the civil rights investigation likely to unfold over the next several months.

(My Brother's Keeper Alliance and The Obama Foundation via AP)WASHINGTON Former President Barack Obama is taking on an increasingly public role as the nation confronts a confluence of historic crises that has exposed deep racial and socioeconomic inequalities in America and reshaped the November election. In doing so, Obama is signaling a willingness to sharply critique his successor, President Donald Trump, and fill what many Democrats see as a national leadership void. President Obama is not going to shy away from that dialogue simply because hes not in office anymore." Floyds death, however, has drawn a more visceral and personal reaction from the nations first black president. It cant be normal," Obama wrote.

Even as prosecutors have said little about how they arrived at the precise number, it has fast grown into a potent symbol of the suffering Floyd and many other black men have experienced at the hands of police. In Boston and Tacoma, Washington, demonstrators this week lay down on streets staging die-ins" for precisely 8 minutes, 46 seconds. ViacomCBS, owner of MTV and Nickelodeon, stopped its programming earlier this week to air a silent, somber video honoring Floyd for 8 minutes, 46 seconds. Pausing for a full 8 minutes, 46 seconds helps turn the abstract into a reality, said Monica Cannon-Grant, the founder of Violence in Boston Inc., which organized a Tuesday protest that included the minutes of silence. Using those, Chauvin had his knee on Floyd for 7 minutes and 46 seconds, including 1 minute and 53 seconds after Floyd appeared to stop breathing.

FILE - In this March 5, 2019 file photo Ohio House minority leader Emilia Sykes delivers the Democrat's response to the Ohio Governor Mike DeWine's Ohio State of the State address at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. As of August 2018, at least 16 states had passed use-of-force laws, according to the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures. Other laws created task forces to set new standards, boosted training or improved tracking of officers' use of guns and deadly force. Police unions have often resisted attempts to restrict officers' use of deadly force and are politically potent in most states. In 2015, the board adopted statewide standards limiting use of deadly force by police officers to defending themselves or others from serious injury or death.

WASHINGTON Former President Barack Obama is taking on an increasingly public role as the nation confronts a confluence of historic crises that has exposed deep racial and socioeconomic inequalities in America and reshaped the November election. Floyds death, however, has drawn a more visceral and personal reaction from the nations first black president. It cant be normal," Obama wrote. Obama grappled with police brutality against minorities as president, including in Ferguson, Missouri, where clashes broke out after the death of Michael Brown, a black 18-year-old. After Browns death, Obamas Justice Department moved to enact broad policing reforms, though most were halted under the Trump administration.

The president demanded an end to the heated protests in remarks from the White House Rose Garden and vowed to use more force to achieve that aim. Yet the message Trump appeared to be sending with the brazen pushback of protesters outside the White House was that he sees few limits to what he is willing to do. Some around the president likened the moment to 1968, when Richard Nixon ran as the law-and-order candidate in the aftermath of a summer of riots, capturing the White House. As Trump spoke, tear gas canisters could be heard exploding. The scene in and around the White House on Monday night appeared to be carefully orchestrated.

(Hennepin County Sheriff via AP)MINNEAPOLIS A medical examiner on Monday classified George Floyds death as a homicide, saying his heart stopped as police restrained him and compressed his neck, in a widely seen video that has sparked protests across the nation. A Minneapolis police officer was charged last week with third-degree murder in Floyds death, and three other officers were fired. Bystander video showed the officer, Derek Chauvin, holding his knee on Floyds neck despite the man's cries that he can't breathe until he eventually stopped moving. The complaint, citing preliminary findings from the medical examiner, listed the effects of being restrained, along with underlying health issues and potential intoxicants in Floyds system. Tim Walz announced Sunday that Attorney General Keith Ellison would take the lead in any prosecutions in Floyd's death.

Protests over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody Monday, broke out in Minneapolis for a third straight night. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)WASHINGTON I cant breathe.Eric Garner uttered those words six years ago, locked in a police chokehold. It became a rallying cry after his death for demonstrators across the country who protested the killings of African Americans by police. Floyd's death came after Ahmaud Arbery was shot to death in Georgia by a former district attorney investigator and his son, who were not arrested until after video emerged months later. Davis has gone to some protests, but came this morning with his two adolescent children to show them what was happening.